Location-based control of mobile device ring mode

Abstract

A system for location-based control of a ring mode of mobile communication devices includes a server configured to communicate with the devices via a network. The server is also configured to receive from a device an indication to change a zone designation of a geographic region at a current location of the device to a silent zone. Any previously received indications for the change of zone designation from other devices are retrieved. If a criterion for implementing the indicated change is met, a change of the zone designation to a silent zone is recorded. The ring mode of a mobile communication device that is located within that geographic region is automatically switched to silent mode.

1 . A system for location-based control of a ring mode of each device of a plurality of mobile communication devices, the system comprising:
 a server configured to communicate with said plurality of mobile communication devices via a network and configured to:
 receive from a device of said plurality of mobile communication devices an indication to change a zone designation of a geographic region at a current location of the device to a silent zone; 
 retrieve any indications for the change of zone designation of the geographic region at the current location that were previously received from other devices of said plurality of mobile communication devices; and 
 if a criterion for implementing the indicated change is met, record a change of the zone designation of the geographic region at the current location to a silent zone so as to cause a device of said plurality of mobile communication devices that is located within that geographic region to automatically switch its ring mode to silent mode. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to:
 receive from a device of said plurality of mobile communication devices an indication to change a zone designation of a geographic region at a current location of the device from a silent zone; and   if a criterion for implementing the indicated change is met, change the zone designation of the geographic region at the current location from a silent zone so as to cause a device of said plurality of mobile communication devices that is located within that geographic region to automatically switch its ring mode to ringtone mode.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the geographic region is delimited as a region in which a signal from a wireless router is detectable or by geographic coordinates. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the current location is determined based on identification of a wireless router from which a signal is received by the device. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the identification of the wireless router comprises identifying a wireless router of a plurality of wireless routers from which from which a strongest signal is received by the device. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the identification comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the current location comprises a location that is measured by a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver of the device or by triangulation by a cellular telephone network. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the indication is generated in response to a manual change of a ring mode of the device to silent mode. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the criterion comprises a minimum number of different devices of said plurality of mobile communication devices from which indications for the change of designation of the geographic region at the current location were previously received. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein a database of geographic regions that are designated as silent zones is accessible by each device of said plurality of mobile communication devices. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the server is configured to send the database to said plurality of mobile communication devices. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each device of said plurality of mobile communication devices is associated with a unique identifier. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is configured to retrieve the previously received indications from a database of indications of changes of designation of geographic regions. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the server is configured to add the received indication to the database of indications when the criterion for implementing the indicated change is not met. 
     
     
         15 . A method for location-based controlling of a ring mode of each device of a plurality of mobile communication devices, the method comprising:
 receiving from a device of said plurality of mobile communication devices an indication to change a zone designation of a geographic region at a current location of the device;   retrieving any previously received indications for the change of the zone designation of the geographic region at the current location from other devices of said plurality of mobile communication devices;   if a criterion for implementing the indicated change is met, changing the zone designation of the geographic region at the current location; and   recording the change in zone designation in a database of silent zones that is accessible to each device of said plurality of mobile communication devices, each device configured such that if a device of said plurality of mobile communication devices is located within that geographic region that is designated as a silent zone, the ring mode of that device is automatically switched to silent mode, or if a device of said plurality of mobile communication devices is located within a geographic region that is not designated as a silent zone, the ring mode of that device is automatically switched to ringtone mode.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein receiving the indication comprises receiving an identifier of a wireless router from which a signal is received by the device or receiving geographic coordinates of the device. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , comprising sending the database of silent zones to said plurality of mobile communication devices. 
     
     
         18 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a processor of a mobile communications device will cause the processor to:
 determine a current location of the device;   access a database of geographic regions that are designated as silent zones to determine if the current location is within a silent zone;   if the current location is within a silent zone, switching a ring mode of the device to silent mode, and if the current location is not within a silent zone, switching the ring mode to a ringtone mode; and   transmit to a server an indication to change a zone designation of a geographic region at a current location of the device to or from a silent zone.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the current location comprises an identifier of a wireless router from which a signal is received by the device or geographic coordinates of the device. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the instructions to transmit the indication include instructions to generate the indication in response to manually switching the ring mode of the device to silent mode or to ringtone mode.